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Somali ministers from Puntland State resign after parliament approves constitutional overhaul MOGADISHU, Somalia — Two Somali federal state ministers from Puntland State resigned Wednesday in protest after lawmakers approved a revised national constitution, escalating a standoff between Mogadishu and regional leaders. Aynaashe Yusuf Hussein, state minister for labor and social affairs, and Ismail Buraale, state minister for petroleum and minerals, announced they were stepping down from their cabinet posts shortly after a…

Somalia’s election test: dialogue over deadlock as May vote nears Somalia is not simply approaching an election. It is entering a three-month test of political maturity that will define its democratic trajectory well beyond 2026. On Feb. 26, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud convened talks with the Somali Future Council to break a stalemate over the electoral framework and constitutional reforms ahead of the May elections. The talks failed, exposing a fragile consensus and the depth of disagreements that have simmered beneath…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali police arrested a senior advisor to the president of Puntland State during a late-night raid at an airport-area hotel in the capital, prompting allegations of intimidation and physical assault against federal lawmakers and sharpening political tensions across the country. Authorities identified the detainee as Ahmed Abdi Mahamud Hurre. Witnesses and local reports said Hurre was meeting several members of the Somali Federal Parliament at the Airport Hotel in Mogadishu when police moved in and took…

Somalia says senior al-Shabab planner behind 2025 attacks killed in Lower Shabelle strike MOGADISHU, Somalia (AX) — Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency said Tuesday it killed a senior al-Shabab leader accused of orchestrating several of the extremist group’s deadliest operations last year, including the assault on the Godka Jilacow detention complex in Mogadishu. NISA said the March 1 operation took place in the Hantiwadaag area of Awdheegle district in the Lower Shabelle region and was conducted in…

Three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses over Kuwait early Monday amid intense regional fighting with Iran, U.S. Central Command said. All six crew members ejected, were recovered and are in stable condition, according to Centcom. The incident unfolded during “active combat” that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones, Centcom said in a statement. Kuwait has acknowledged the shootdown as an apparent friendly-fire mistake and launched an…

Chinese fishing vessel and crew freed after seizure off Puntland State following China–Somalia coordination MOGADISHU — A Chinese fishing vessel seized by armed men off the coast of Puntland State was released along with all crew members after coordinated efforts by China, Somalia’s federal government and Puntland State authorities, officials said Tuesday. The vessel was freed on March 2 in what the Chinese Embassy in Mogadishu described as a peaceful resolution reached through close consultations between Somalia’s federal…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia has begun enforcing a new rule that requires passengers to present a national identity card for all domestic flights, a move officials say will tighten security and modernize how the country oversees internal air travel. The Somali Immigration and Citizenship Authority said the measure took effect March 1 following a two-month postponement intended to give citizens more time to register for the national ID. The policy was originally slated for Jan. 1, 2026. Mustafa Sheikh Ahmed Dhuxulow, the…

In a country that has waited more than half a century for modern workplace protections, a union-led, United Nations-backed push is taking the new law from paper to factory floors, markets and offices across Somalia. The Federation of Somali Trade Unions (FESTU) has launched a nationwide labour rights education drive to help workers understand, reclaim and defend their rights under Somalia’s newly adopted Labour Code — the first comprehensive reform in 52 years. The Labour Code emerged from sustained social dialogue among the…

Tuesday, March 3, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — The Federation of Somali Trade Unions (FESTU), backed by the United Nations, has launched a nationwide labor rights education campaign to turn Somalia’s first comprehensive Labour Code reform in 52 years into real protections in workplaces across the country. The newly adopted Labour Code was crafted through sustained tripartite dialogue among the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA), the Somali Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and FESTU, with technical and financial…

TEHRAN — Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is alive and unharmed after reported U.S.-Israeli strikes targeted senior Iranian leadership and military infrastructure, a close aide told Anadolu on Sunday. “I am in touch with him. All is good,” said the adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The aide said a building associated with Ahmadinejad’s security detail was struck Saturday, killing three of his bodyguards — all members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Ahmadinejad’s residence, located…